


League of Her Own

by Elri (angelrider13)



Series: Insanity [5]
Category: Justice League, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Batman has another kid, Gen, Implied Child Abuse, Insanity, Mental Instability, Rachel is tiny and shy and cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-09 23:37:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelrider13/pseuds/Elri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Justice League is made up of the world's finest. But now, they have to deal with a girl who's in a league of her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	League of Her Own

_Recognized: Batman 02_

Batman entered the Watchtower and headed straight for the meeting room, stopping only briefly to call all members present in the Tower to the room. His face was impassive as always, his posture tight, controlled, and dangerous. To any onlooker, Batman looked just like he always did. What they didn't know, was that today was different.

Today, there was a small body pressed close to his under the cape.

Today, there were small hands that clung nervously and desperately to his arm.

Today, he was not alone.

He reached the meeting room and waited for the others to arrive. The hands on his arm tugged, clenching around the limb. Automatically, he wrapped his arm around narrow shoulders, guarding, protecting. He kept himself calm and confident. He felt the body pressed against his side relax and heard the faintest release of breath.

Just then, the doors slid open and the body tensed again, hands clenching. He tightened his hold. Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary, both Green Lanterns, and Hawkgirl entered the room looking expectantly at the Dark Knight.

"Where is J'onn?" he asked.

Diana crossed her arms over her chest. "He's on his way. What's this about, Bruce?"

"Yeah," Barry said stepping forward, "I promised Wally I would take him to the amusement park today; can this wait?"

"No," Batman's reply was short and direct, leaving no room for debate.

Superman sighed. "Bruce…"

"This is important, Clark," Batman said, his tone becoming dark. He felt a face press into his side and rail thin arms wrap around his waist, a small, very small, whimper escaping the black folds of his cape. All heads turned toward the sound and felt the arms tighten around him, a feeling not his own rising up in his chest ( _—panicfeartoomanypeopleneedtoescapeneedtogetoutNOW_ ). He tugged the body under his cape to him holding tightly, cutting off escape but providing security.

"Did your cape just whimper?" Ollie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it Robin?" Shayera asked worried, "Is he okay?"

"Robin is at home," was the stoic reply.

Dinah arched a delicate eyebrow. "Then who's your guest?"

At the same time, John said, "You have _another_ kid?"

Batman felt laughter that wasn't his bubble up in his throat and felt his lips twitch upward before he clamped down on it. A timid apology echoed in his head. He gently rubbed the shoulder under his hand in reply.

Before he could say anything to Dinah or John, the doors slid open again, allowing the Martian Manhunter entrance. The body under his cape moved and was suddenly out in the open, running to the new arrival and wrapping around him in a hug. The other heroes watched, eyes wide in surprise at the sight before them.

It was a girl, a young girl, with brown hair that came to her shoulders. She was thin, so thin, it hurt the heroes to look. Her arms were boney, the skin that pulled across her elbows so pale it was transparent. Her shirt slipped off one of her shoulders, revealing a _very_ defined collar bone.

"Martian!" she squealed, giving the heroes a view of her face.

Her smile was wide, but her cheeks were hollow and the bags under her eyes were deep. Her skin was frightfully pale. J'onn smiled down at the girl, her appearance not appearing to faze him, and placed a green hand on her head.

"Hello, Little One," he said, "It is good to see you."

She beamed up at him before suddenly freezing. She turned to the others in the room, her hazel eyes wide in horror. A strangled sound wrenched itself from her throat before she threw herself back across the room. She was back under Batman's cape before any of them could blink.

Ollie blinked. "What just happened?"

Batman pulled his cape aside, revealing the girl again. She had her arms around Batman's waist in a death grip, pressing as close to him as possible, her face mostly hidden in his side, one hazel orb watching them cautiously.

"This," Batman said, "is Rachel. Her code name is Nemo. Approximately two months ago, the Joker broke out of Arkham, taking Rachel with him. Robin and I rescued her and have been caring for her ever since. However, it is no long feasible for her to stay in Gotham."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Barry said, holding up a hand, "Back up. Joker broke out of Arkham _with_ her? She was in Arkham? Why? She's just a kid!" Barry's face was furious. Who the hell put a _child_ in an asylum for the criminally insane of _Gotham_? The others began to voice similar protests, demanding to know why she was there, how Bruce could remain so impassive, why she was taken by Joker in the first place.

"Because Nemo's not normal."

The girl's voice stopped the heroes' protests. She had turned her face to them so her voice wasn't muffled. She looked terrified. The League immediately calmed, not wanting to startel the girl any more than she already was.

Rachel's pale lips parted, her voice soft and a little broken as she spoke. "Nemo was there because no one wants her. Because she is different. Because she is scary. Because she is…dangerous. So she was sent to the Asylum. Not to help her, but to hide her. It's very dark there. There is so much…emptiness." Rachel's eyes glazed over and her body pulled away from Batman's a little. "It is a place where blood paints the walls, where fears are born, where hatred and malice and pain and suffering thrive. Where being broken makes one a target." Rachel turned her eyes to Batman. "That is why the Clown took Nemo. She was something fun, something to play with, something broken. Something that couldn't scream." Rachel's head lolled back so she was staring at the ceiling. "Something that was a challenge."

Batman pulled away from her, moving so that he was kneeling in front of her, hands gripping her shoulders. "Rachel," he said softly, shaking her slightly, "Rachel, you need to _focus_."

J'onn walked up so he was standing behind her, looking down into her sightless eyes. "Remember what I taught you, Little One. Breath deep."

Rachel's breath caught and she jerked violently. She sucked in a deep breath and held it releasing it slowly. "Better," she said softly after a moment. "Quieter here. Better. Easier."

Batman nodded and stood while J'onn smoothed back the girl's hair, gently messaging her scalp. She leaned into his touch and her eyes became hazy. "You must relax, Little One. No one here will hurt you here," J'onn said.

Rachel's eyes flitted over the heroes in the room. Slowly, the tension left her body and she relaxed. "Nemo knows. But that does not mean they won't be scared of her. Everyone is scared of her."

Diana frowned. She didn't like the way that this girl talked about herself. She walked forward and knelt in front of the girl. Rachel didn't flinch or hide again but she did reach out and clutch Batman's cape tightly with one hand.

"Rachel," she said softly, she saw the girl's eyes go wide, "You know that isn't true. Batman and J'onn clearly care about you."

Rachel blinked up at her before turning to Batman and J'onn. They said nothing, but J'onn gave her a gentle smile and Batman stepped a little closer to her. When she turned back to Diana, her eyes were wide and expression filled with awe. She smiled at the girl.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves before we get carried away? I'm Wonder Woman, but you can call me Diana," she said, pointing to herself, "That's Superman, Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and they're both Green Lanterns. You can call the one without the mask John," she explained, gesturing to each hero as she spoke.

Rachel nodded. "Nemo knows," she said smiling shyly, "But thank you for saying it out loud, Princess."

"You're welcome," Diana said, though she felt some confusion at her words. Out loud? What did that mean?

Slowly, Rachel let go of Batman's cape and walked toward the other heroes. She stopped in front of Superman first, looking up at him with a tentative smile. Clark gave her one in return, hoping to calm her nerves. Then she did something unexpected; she began speaking in a different language that no one seemed to understand. But Clark's eyes went wide with shock. When Rachel stopped speaking he stared at her for a long moment. The girl merely looked back at him, face blank, but eyes hopeful. Finally, Clark replied, in the same tongue. Rachel smiled again, this one bigger than the one before, but still small.

She moved to Flash, who was standing next to the Man of Steel. "Hello," she said softly, switching back to English, "It is nice to meet the Speedster."

Barry smiled and reached out a hand to ruffle her hair. "You too, kiddo."

Rachel stared at him wide eyed, her smile growing that much wider. She moved to Hawkgirl, who relaxed her stance to be less intimidating as much as she could. Much to her surprise, Rachel spoke to her in her native tongue, bowing at the waist as was respectful when greeting an elder. Blinking away her surprise, Shayera smiled and inclined her head, giving the customary response. When Rachel moved on to Green Arrow, her posture was more confident, more at ease.

She looked up at the blond man and gave him her biggest smile yet. "It is an honor, Archer."

Ollie gave her a crooked smile. "Same here, kid."

Dinah rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't listen to him," she said, "He's just naturally snarky."

Rachel brought a hand to her mouth in an attempt to smother the giggles bubbling up from her lips. Even Batman felt his lips twitch up at the sound. "Then he is lucky," Rachel said, "that he has the Songbird to keep him in line."

This comment pulled chuckles from all the heroes present (minus Batman; barely-there smiles are okay, but Batman doesn't _chuckle_ ).

When Rachel stopped in front of Hal and John, she crossed an arm over her chest, fist resting on her shoulder and gave each of them a slight bow of her head. Both Hal and John arched an eyebrow and exchanged a glance. This was the typical greeting the Lanterns gave to the Guardians. They nodded to the gesture and Rachel smiled at them, a _real_ smile.

"Hail the Warriors of the Green Light, Voluntas and Animus," she said to Hal and John respectively.

That said, she turned and practically skipped back to Batman. When she reached his side, she tugged at his cape pulling it around her shoulders, but not disappearing under it. Her body language was relaxed, at ease, child-like. As is should be. She wore a grin on her thin face, lighting up her features. The sight caused relief to flood the heroes.

Barry sighed. "All right, I'll bite. What the heck just happened?"

"She spoke to me in Kryptonian," Clark said, still somewhat in shock from his greeting.

"She used the customary greeting to my people," Shayera added, "I was not aware there was and source of knowledge regarding my people's customs and traditions on Earth."

"Well I know we don't have any information on the Corps here," John said, crossing his arms.

"And what exactly did she call us?" Hal asked.

"They were both Latin words for 'will.'" Diana answered, "Though I am not sure why she uses these titles."

Rachel looked up at Batman, her expression curious, almost like she was expecting him to jump in and explain things. Which he did.

"Rachel is a telepath," he stated calmly, "However, she is untrained and unable to control her powers."

"When she addresses someone, she tends to use what she perceives as their essence or defining characteristic rather than their name," J'onn added.

"So, basically, you're saying she's been reading our minds since she got here," Ollie said. Some of the Leaguers stiffened at this, though some seemed to take it in stride.

Batman nodded. "Anything you know, she knows. However, she cannot be held responsible for this."

"Of course not, Bruce," Diana said, "We don't blame her."

J'onn stepped forward. "I have been working with Rachel, helping her get a grip on her powers, since she came into Batman's care," he paused placing a gentle hand on Rachel's head, "However, the years she spent in Arkham have taken their toll. If she is to make any progress, she cannot stay in Gotham."

Rachel looked saddened by this and turned to look up at Batman. "She will have to leave the Bird," she sulked.

"Robin will be allowed to visit you," Batman said. Rachel smiled in relief.

"So if she can't stay in Gotham, what exactly did you have in mind, Bruce?" Clark asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"She'll be staying here."

Yep.

Rachel kept looking back and forth between those speaking, a look of pure curiosity on her face.

"Bruce, this isn't a daycare center," John said, frowning, "This isn't a place for a kid."

"It is the safest place for her to be; for her as well as others," Batman said shortly, "It would also make it easier for J'onn to train her. And she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

There was a moment of silence while the other heroes and Batman stared each other down.

(Guess who blinked.)

* * *

It happened during Rachel's third week at the Tower.

It changed the way the League saw her.

For the most part, she was adjusting well. Batman was up in the Tower often, monitoring her progress, surprising a few of the members with the frequency of his visits. Rachel spent most of her time with the members of the League that had been present during her introduction, though her small circle had expanded some. Shayera introduced her to Carter (Hawkman) and watched in amusement as the girl greeted him in the customary Thanigarian way before dubbing him "The Warrior" to her "Angel." She greeted Aquaman with the respect he was granted by his people and saluted Captain Atom, earning her place in the hearts of the King and the Soldier.

However, some members of the League were weary of her. They couldn't understand why a child was in the Watchtower, but with the Founding Members supporting her stay there, they couldn't question it. They avoided her for the most part, but Rachel didn't seem to mind. She always gave them a wide berth, letting them have their space.

Rachel gave no indication to anyone that she was anything more than a little girl, only using her powers or mentioning them when she was alone with J'onn.

So when it happened, no one was really expecting it.

Rachel sat in the Monitor Womb that day, playing with a large shard of Kryptonian crystal (no, not Kryptonite, actual _crystal_ ) that Superman had given her a few days ago. The stone was a bright blue that reminded her of Robin's eyes. She ran her slender fingers over the smooth plans and crisp edges of the crystal, a smile on her lips. The crystal was bright and pure and light and strong and it reminded her of her Bird. She hadn't seen him since she came here, but Batman brought her letters from him and she wrote back with help from Dinah. J'onn was teaching her to communicate telepathically and she hoped to be able to speak to him soon. She missed him.

She was torn from her musings by shouting.

Looking up, she saw that several Leaguers had been teleported up; they were returning from a mission. Rachel saw a series of images flash behind her eyes. The mission had not gone well. And they were fighting over it. The Leaguers that had already been in the room rushed forward to try and break up the fight before it got physical. Rachel sat on her perch above them and watched, knowing they wouldn't be able to stop the fight.

She always knew.

She couldn't help it.

She often asked J'onn if knowing things, the things she knew, would help people. If she could somehow put it to use, the way the other Leaguers used their powers to help innocents.

J'onn had told her that was for her to decide.

She did want to help.

But she didn't know how.

There was so much pain in the room, so much anger, so much fear. It was a whirlwind that threatened to strangle everyone in its path.

Some of the Leaguers where ones that cared for her. Others were those that feared her.

She stared at the crystal in her hands for a long moment, an idea forming in her mind. She focused on the blue gem holding it tightly in her hands as it began to crack under the pressure of her mind until it was nothing but dust in her palms. As she did this she started humming, ignoring the world around her, shutting out the shouting and the anger. Right now, she was invisible, in her own mind, a world away. Softly, she sang the first words that formed on her lips; something she often did when she was unsure what to do or how to handle a situation.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out_   
_You left me in the dark_   
_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight_   
_In the shadow of your heart_

No one really noticed at first, her voice was too quiet for most to hear over the yelling and screaming. Though the few who were close enough or had super hearing stopped and turned to her, looks of confusion on their faces.

The dust in her hands began to rise into the air, twisting and twining around her body like a playful pet. She smiled and let the blue jewels settle around the room.

_And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat_   
_I tried to find the sound_   
_But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,_   
_So darkness I became_

The crystal blue dust curled around the heroes below her, swirling between them, caressing them. Slowly, the arguing died down, the attention on the strange dust that seemed to glow and sparkle. They watched in awe as it formed shapes in the air, becoming stars, planets, moons, suns, galaxies.

She let her voice grow louder, let them hear it, hear her words. A distant part of her mind wondered if they would hear them. For so long her words had been ignored, so she began to leave them unsaid. When Batman and Robin rescued her, they listened. It was the first time anyone had listened. And she liked the feeling it brought. Being listened to. Being paid attention to. Because it meant people _saw_ her.

_I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map_   
_And knew that somehow I could find my way back_   
_Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too_   
_So I stayed in the darkness with you_

She felt the tension in the air bleed out of the room, leaving a stunned silence. The awe was lost on her. She didn't quite understand where it came from. Why it was there. She was in a room filled with meathumans. People who used their gifts every day to save lives, to help people. Why should they be impressed with a display of her powers?

But they were.

They calmed at the sound of her voice. They began to turn to her, looking between her and the gleaming stars surrounding them, circling them. She let her eyes slide shut, let herself get lost in her song. She smiled, laughter bubbling up in her throat and mixing with her voice.

_The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out_   
_You left me in the dark_   
_No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight_   
_In the shadow of your heart_

She felt the last of the anger slip from the air, leaving only a ghost behind. The atmosphere became…content. Were her words that powerful? She was only saying the first words that popped into her head. Surely they wouldn't have had that much of an effect. But…maybe it was just her desire to help. She didn't like fighting. She had been surrounded by it for so long.

Fighting was dark and messy and hatred and anger and pain. But here, with these people, with theses heroes, she had felt a light she never thought she would see. (Oh, she knew it existed, she knew everything, but she never expected to feel it first-hand.) She saw light and warmth and care and passion and good in these people. Something that the people who had surrounded her for years lacked.

She refused to let it be tainted, to watch it succumb to the darkness the already held so many souls hostage.

_Suddenly my eyes are open_   
_Everything comes into focus, oh_   
_We are all illuminated_   
_Lights are shining on our faces, blinding_

She felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder and she stopped, opening her eyes and looking up. Diana stood over her, a gentle smile on her face, Clark standing right behind her. She looked around the room and found looks of awe directed at her, the gleaming blue dust still swirling in the air creating shapes and patterns under her careful focus.

"You have a beautiful voice," Diana said, her hand lightly squeezing Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel hummed softly. "Nemo doesn't really know if it is beautiful, Princess, she just wanted to stop the fighting. She doesn't like fighting. It's a dark thing. A messy thing. She doesn't want it here. Not here. It's so light here, so _good_. No fighting, not here."

Many in the room suddenly looked ashamed and she doesn't quite understand why. She wasn't reprimanding them, she just wanted to protect them. She saw what that darkness did to people. Perhaps she should explain?

"Nemo didn't want the darkness here. So she helped. She stopped the fighting because she didn't want the darkness to take root. Once it does it leaves seeds of hate and scars of anger, Nemo wished to save them from such a fate."

The looks of shame became confusion. Diana drew her into a hug, a smile on her lips. Rachel looked up at the Amazon in confusion. Clark chuckled behind her before turning on the group of heroes that had been squabbling.

"From the mouth of a child," he said, arms crossed over his chest, expression stern.

Rachel tuned out the rest of the lecture and let herself lean back in Wonder Woman's embrace. She pulled the dust back to her, letting it pool in her palms, before crushing it together with her mind. Diana watched as she formed the dust back into a crystal shard. Rachel turned and presented it to the woman with a wide smile.

"It's the same color as the Bat's and the Bird's eyes."

Diana smiled at her fondly and chuckled. "It is indeed."

* * *

After that day, no one questioned why she was there.

There were still those who avoided her, but she didn't mind. She knew she was different and that it scared people. Yes, it hurt and it always would. But she understood it and didn't press the issue. Besides, she had people who accepted her, which was more than she ever thought she would receive. And, for her, that was enough.

She liked her new life and the people in it.

So it was enough.

She knew she wasn't part of the League, would never be. For all J'onn's hard work, she was too unstable, too raw, too untrained. And it was something that would probably never be fixed. And she was fine with that. After all, people cared enough to _try_. So she didn't mind.

But she could here another reason echo in the minds of the heroes that had witnessed her display of power, those that heard the story. They didn't know how unhinged she was. They didn't know her history. Really, they didn't know anything about her. But like all people, they formed their own conclusions. They thought it was because of her powers she wouldn't became part of the League. And while, technically, they were right, they didn't understand. To them she was a child with too much power, someone who could easily make or break them. That was why she was kept at a distance; to keep her in check. But she paid them no mind because they didn't understand.

In reality, very few people did.

So instead, she tried to understand them, help them as best she could. Because she knew that she would never see the front line, knew she would never physically fight, knew she would never physically catch a person when they fell.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try.

She sat with the heroes placed in the infirmary; sometime talking and telling stories of things from long ago or of something on the other side of the world. Other times she would sit quietly and just be with them. Most often, though, she would sing to them. There weren't always words, just the soft hum of her voice. It helped. And she liked helping. She was happy.

So she didn't care if she was part of the Justice League.

Because she was a league of her own.

**Author's Note:**

> Song lyrics are from Illuminated by Hurts and Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine.


End file.
